Naperville Sun

don’t sacrifice privacy on altar of cyber security

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:26:34 -0500

In the name of protecting us from hackers, computer viruses and cyber-terrorists, the House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make it easier for sites like Facebook and Twitter and Internet service providers like Comcast and Time-Warner to share users’ private messages and files with government agencies. The House on April 25 passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA. The act aims to make it easier for the government and online businesses to exchange information about computer and network security risks so they can more effectively respond to hackers, digital espionage and computer viruses. Yet …

Letters to the editor

Fri, 03 May 2013 02:56:44 -0500

Flooding problem in Cress Creek Commons I have lived in Naperville for 35 years. I live in the Cress Creek Commons subdivision. I need to vent my frustration with the city of Naperville. I was flooded in 1996, 2008 and 2013. Besides this, the current flood, being an act of God, the city of Naperville needs to share in this disaster. When we had the deep wells that supplied Naperville’s water needs, we had very little flooding, because the overall groundwater level was way down. After we got Lake Michigan water and experienced a very large rainfall, we flooded. At …

Stormwater recipe smells a little fishy

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:54:01 -0500

If we are to believe the old saying that laws are like sausages, and it is better not to see them made, the Springfield Sausage Factory, aka Illinois General Assembly, is hard at work. With over 3,000 proposed bills churning in the pot for this, their 98th session, the menu presented to the people will have a variety of flavors and textures. One recipe being cooked up is HB 1522. Right now the taste it is leaving in my mouth is far from palatable. This proposal, specifically being prepared for Peoria and DuPage counties, will enable each to pursue creation …

Letters

Wed, 01 May 2013 02:49:21 -0500

Time to save the U.S. Postal Service As a 40-year logistics industry veteran, I know first hand how Fred Smith, founder of Fed Ex, became a billionaire two times over. And it wasn’t by providing excellent delivery service at Chevy prices; it was providing excellent service at Mercedes Benz prices. Scare the daylights out of people with million dollar ads touting the end of their job if they don’t use Fed Ex and you can entice individuals and companies to fork over exorbitant prices for what the United State Postal Service (USPS) does routinely for much less. That is why …

Letters to the editor

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:39:37 -0500

Proper planning in the past helps us today Things we should all be thankful for after our 7-inch water deluge on all of Naperville’s positive real estate developments. After a 100-year rain in this area about 30 or so years ago, our Congressman, Harris Fawell, secured federal funds to construct a huge dam on our DuPage River about 400 yards upstream from Ogden Avenue (Route 34). Our DuPage County engineers monitored this dam 24 hours a day to protect the water flow down to the city of Naperville and the back flow water to the city of Warrenville. Both towns …

Letters to the editor

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:12:42 -0500

Council, residents deserve thanks for Water Street project On behalf of Marquette Companies and the Water Street district team, I wanted to write to thank the people of Naperville and the City Council for the support you have given to the Water Street project in downtown Naperville. The planning and approval process have been long and difficult, but in the end, we believe we have the best development for Naperville, with the most reasonable financial structure possible given today’s economic climate. As we begin the construction process, we invite you to continue to watch us, share with us and celebrate …

Some fast-paced, old-fashioned fun

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:12:42 -0500

The shivery wind said winter, but the sound ... well, the sound was pure summer. There are some sounds, like the clank of a horseshoe hitting a metal stake, the whump of a bat hitting a 16-inch softball, and the unmistakable clatter of a soap box car racing down the pavement that never fail to evoke memories of summertime fun. Last Sunday, the Greater Chicago Soap Box Derby Association held its April “Rookie Race,” to give kids between 7 and 17 a chance to see what it feels like to pilot a soap box racer down a hill. The kids …

Bombing investigation cause for reflection

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:54:01 -0500

As I write this on Friday afternoon, I’ve finally given up waiting to see the controlled explosion authorities in Massachusetts planned as part of their search for the second Boston Marathon bomber, the younger brother. I particularly wanted to see it because a number of years ago Kathy and I saw one in real life when we were visiting Paris. It was one of those fascinating moments that adds a little bit of zing to an otherwise fairly normal vacation. We had been on our way out of a largish department store when police near the front door started herding …

Naperville City Council term issue needs an answer

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:34:57 -0500

I would like to make a modest proposal. I propose that we do something that we often find it hard to do: Forget all the political quarreling of the last couple of years and simply move on. We had several good candidates for City Council in this election. In fact, I would call it one of the finest slates I’ve seen. The incumbents were re-elected because they each did a good job as a representative of the entire community and each one had a different, explicit constituency that supported them. Only one of the four exceptionally qualified challengers was able …

Letters to the editor

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:55:00 -0500

Salute bus drivers Thank you, local bus drivers. You bring kids to school safely day after day. Parents let go of their control for that brief ride to school or for a field trip and trust you with our greatest gifts. You do not receive any recognition, it is a thankless job for the most part, I would imagine. I have no idea what you see or hear on a daily basis, yet, you continue to take kids to where they need to go. So, thank you. I am thankful that my kids get to their destination safely. I appreciate …

Keeping things up to code an important job for city

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:54:59 -0500

In my last column, I wrote about how satisfying it was to complete a project that everyone supported. What united all of Naperville in supporting the demolition of 430 S. Washington St. was the structure’s terrible state of disrepair — a common occurrence among many buildings in the U.S. since the real estate boom and subsequent financial collapse. Fortunately, in Naperville, we have fewer buildings in disrepair than in many other places. There are several factors that keep a community well-maintained: high real estate prices and property values, high expectations of residents and business owners, solid zoning and property maintenance …

Letters to the editor

Wed, 08 May 2013 06:40:31 -0500

Give Council district system a chance In response to Ms. Mary Wright’s letter to the editor on March 24, I would encourage her to review the League of Women Voters national public policy positions. Fact: The District/At Large hybrid model is aligned with their support for apportionment of elected legislative bodies at all levels of government based substantially on population. Fact: Her dated research from 2010 fails to include pertinent information from the National League of Cities (nlc.org) that shows that 56 percent of mid-sized cities such as Naperville use districts. As city populations increase, the use of districts also …

Voting in Naperville so easy we take it for granted

Sat, 04 May 2013 06:11:54 -0500

Could the problem be that it is simply too easy to vote in Naperville? We have plenty of voting places and early voting lasts a long time. And if you are properly registered to vote, all you need to do on election day is sign your name. Maybe it’s just too easy, and that’s why so few of us vote in these local elections. It’s certainly not that way everywhere. Last fall, you’ll recall, some people had to stand in line for several hours because the majority political party in some states deliberately lowered the number of voting machines in …

Letters

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:21:32 -0500

Early detection key for children with autism At the age of 3, Josh smiled often. To the casual observer, he appeared happy. To the careful observer, the smile came from a different place than the smiles of his peers. The smile often emerged, not from the expected interactions with parents, peers, and teachers, but instead when spinning the wheels of a toy or looking into a ceiling light. Josh’s smile made him seem happy on the surface. Yet if he was happy, he was happily unengaged with the rest of the world around him. I first met Josh at this …

Sullivan, Stones and my grandfather’s house

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:11:50 -0500

My grandfather’s house was a small bungalow on Claypole Avenue up the side of East Price Hill in Cincinnati, Ohio. It had two bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen with an old-fashioned ice box at the back and peach and apple trees in the backyard, right about where the yard tilted precipitously to the street below. It had a full, though entirely unfinished basement, where I got the fright of my life one day when I was a small child snooping through the stuff in the basement and opened a trunk that had a skull inside. The skull turned out not …